


As The Wrench Turns

by Majorminor2242



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Overwatch (Video Game), Titanfall (Video Games), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Ashido Mina is a Ray of Sunshine, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings, But Determined, D.VA Mech Similarities, Everyone in Canon is Female, Female Bakugou Katsuki, He is Generally Outcast and Unsupported, Iron Man Suit Similarities, Jirou Kyouka has a Crush, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku in Both Hero and Support Courses, Midoriya Izuku is a Dork, Midoriya Izuku is a Nerd, Multi, Only Quirked Females, Protective Ashido Mina, Protective Bakugou Katsuki, Protective Jirou Kyouka, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, Titanfall Mech Similarities, Tsundere Bakugou Katsuki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-01-27 03:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21385345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Majorminor2242/pseuds/Majorminor2242
Summary: Many years ago, his father had been an incredible inventor, revered for the technological wonders he had produced. Sadly, however, he passed in the midst of a villain attack when on his way home. A few years later, Izuku Midoriya discovers his late-fathers works. His incredible inventions, creations and brilliant ideas all recorded and stored under the floor boards, ready and waiting to be brought to automation.It is then, that Izuku finds himself enraptured by technology. He finds a passion for it much similar to his dad, and it is a perfect way for him to spend his time learning about heroism as a disadvantaged quirkless male in this predominantly female-dominated world.Then, one day, he finds an untold schematic from inside a hidden suitcase. The Omega Project's intent:To start a revolution...
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Ashido Mina & Midoriya Izuku, Ashido Mina/Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku, Class 1-A & Midoriya Izuku, Class 1-A/Midoriya Izuku, Class 1-H & Midoriya Izuku, Hatsume Mei & Midoriya Izuku, Jirou Kyouka & Midoriya Izuku, Jirou Kyouka/Midoriya Izuku
Comments: 22
Kudos: 138





	As The Wrench Turns

**Author's Note:**

> You want to hear the origin story of a quirkless boy who became as legendary -if not more so- than All Might? The first male hero to grace the streets in history?
> 
> Of course you do, otherwise why are you here? So stick around, grab some popcorn/pretzels, a large drink and a project to tinker with, and let me tell you the truth about how the biggest revolution since the dawn of quirks came and begun...

"Izuku honey, are you sure you have everything packed?"

"Yes, mom. Don't worry, I'll be fine!" he gently smiled, causing her to return the favour as he slipped on his red designer shoes, as well as his belt which he had made to hold his specialised tools for UA's exams -yes, personal tools were permitted as long as they weren't used to 'cheat'.

"Oh… I can't believe that my baby boy is growing up so fast…" she cupped his face as he laughed.

"Yeah, it feels like yesterday when I said I couldn't wait to go to UA…" he flexed his hand, clenching it as determination spread on his face.

"Izu… That was yesterday. As well as every other day since you were seven." she giggled, causing him to blush in response. "Look… Izuku. No, look at me." she pulled his chin as they connected eyes. "Please… please promise me that you'll be safe. Please, I can't… I couldn't handle it if I lost you too…" she whispered with a frown.

"Don't worry, mom. I'll be fine. I know just how hard it was to get you to agree to me doing this, so of course I'm not gonna blow this opportunity!" he said confidently to calm her down. "I'll be safe, and so will anyone I meet along the way. I'm going out there to be a hero."

"…I know you are…" she embraced him one last time tighter than ever before. "I love you, my little rabbit. Now hop along! Good luck in your tests." and with that final conclusion, he waved as he trailed along the hall outside their apartment, before walking the route to the train stop.

The train was as packed as always, which was irritating. Especially when you were one of the minority of males in a world full of predominant quirked females that all kept staring at him like he was some leech or trash. It certainly didn't help when preparing yourself for two entrance exams for the elite Hero school of Japan --both of which were in one day. To be honest… He felt pretty confident that he could ace the Support course practical, and he at _least_ felt comfortable with the mandatory written entrance exam… It was the hero course that would be the challenge.

Especially without a quirk.

Bumping shoulders with several people, he finally managed to squeeze past the train's sliding doors in the nick of time, and immediately started towards UA, which was only a block or so away. Reaching the entrance gate, his breath hitched slightly at the dazzling display of glinting glass windows that made up the entirety of the enormous scale building. The design of the main building on campus was quite literally a massive 'UA' shape. Steeling his nerve, he continued forward, only to startle at the pretty pink girl sliding past on a gel coming from around her feet.

" 'Scuse me! Sorry! Coming through!" she yelled out to other people all walking by, sliding past like riding a skateboard. Blinking, Izuku shook his head with a smile. True, it would be cool to be able to do that, but he didn't need a quirk.

'For I have every plan to become a hero up in here.' he thought, tapping his head confidently. All he needed now was to get into UA's legendary support course to have access to some of the best tools and materials throughout the world, and the Hero course to take his dream and achieve it… then boom! He'd reach the goals of being what his father couldn't achieve within his life. He'd do his father proud, by bearing his legacy, holding his torch.

Luckily for him, his first exam, the written one, was in the first place he arrived at. Inside was an enormous gymnasium that had been seemingly refurbished particularly for this event, and he scouted his exact spot as 'Student Examinee 2242'. Sitting himself down, he prepared all of his equipment and waited. Surprising him, the girl he saw outside had just sat down to his right. She smiled in what looked like friendly surprise and he smiled back -meekly as he wasn't great around friendly people (or girls) ((and especially not both)).

Halfway through, he furtively glanced over his shoulder and noticed her screaming internally as the girl commenced a staring contest with her paper. He felt really bad, but hoped she managed to make it past question four in the next five minutes since the poor girl looked utterly downtrodden.

Luckily, she did, but she didn't look very happy to hear the bell signalling the exam had ended. She looked exhausted, and if Izuku could guess from small glances, against last years acceptance scores, she'd possibly be a few marks under. He could only hope the test was simply harder for everyone this year, thus lowering the grade boundaries. That or everyone unanimously struggled like her as an average.

It wasn't like he even knew the girl; she just seemed to want it badly.

Leaving to head straight to his next test (since there was very little time between), he strolled around the hallways, trying his damnedest to find his way to the support course where his second out of three exams was taking place. Luckily, the Hero course exam was delayed by a couple hours, so he needn't worry about missing it, and it definitely benefited him to have this test first. The reason for this is because in UA's extensive rulebook, it states you aren't allowed to take any items into the battle unless they were made in the support course explicitly. 'It really does help to read the rules sometimes.' he mused.

Eventually, he found where he was supposed to be, and the futuristic door slid open to reveal a large lab room filled with everything he could ever imagine in his wildest dreams as an inventor and mechanic. Beautiful, pristine tools flourished every conceivable wall, and the choices of materials and components available to use was incredible. Back at home, Izuku could only dream of this chrome lined heaven, but right now, he had to focus. He needed to earn this workshop paradise first…

The sound of the brilliant hero Power-Loader filled the room as the exam commenced. She wore an orange vest, as well as a dinosaur-themed metal helmet like a clamp around her head, hiding all of her features other than the orange hair that fell a ways down her back. She seemed clearly taken aback that he was here, however didn't mention it as she started the exam. Izuku didn't even need to think of what he would build. He had already planned this out, and he knew just about every one of his dad's schematics off by heart as well as the few he had created himself, such as the 'Blast Gauntlet V2'. A newer, slightly more efficient, upgraded version of one of his father's ideas.

Immediately plucking out the tools he already carried on his belt, he strolled over to the material boxes and gathered some carbon-aluminium alloy. He smirked when he saw most of the people lining up for magnesium-carbon alloys and some even just pure metals. True, MgC was one of the strongest alloys currently available, however there were lesser known ones that were excellent in their own ways.

"The biggest perk to aluminium instead of magnesium would be the weight. Aluminium is far lighter than most metals, yet also still exceptionally strong. Turn that pure metal into an alloy and it becomes an incredible amount harder to break and bend, as the layers of atoms inside of it don't slide over each other like in pure metals. The biggest problem with using aluminium with carbon would be that carbon is already used in the process of creating aluminium, which makes it less soluble and harder to mix without using ion implantation -which is ridiculously expensive." he didn't realise he was muttering, nor did he notice any furtive glances sent his way.

Lucky for him that UA didn't do 'cheap'.

Wiping his grin of his face, he got back to his personal workstation and set up the small clamps to hold plates together so that he could weld the parts that would be used to form the main functions of the gauntlet together. Securing a sturdy frame after only ten minuets, he set to ensuring that the parts fit comfortably when worn, also checking that the moving/sliding joints locked into place perfectly. After making a few very minor tweaks (he was usually pretty spot on with things the first time), he finally set to creating and adding the two main weaponised features that he wanted included. If he had time at the end, he'd also try and recreate the simple grappling-hook mechanics that he had refined at home, but that was indefinite for the time being.

The two main methods of attack, he had decided, were going to be a blast canon which uses compressed air in forceful shockwaves, as well as a miniature repulsor-canon system which he'd hook up to several batteries he would keep in his belt pouch. The harder of the two was surprisingly the blast canon. This is because whilst the repulsor system sounds extremely complex -which it is-, it is overall easier than creating a self-renewing pressurised canister that fit inside of an oversized metal glove.

A repulsor, in its most basic interpretation, is a form in which a high density muon beam can be projected, as a powerful blast of concussive energy called 'repulsor blasts'. These blasts impart a kinetic force on the target. It charges quickly, and there is no visible thermal or chemical damage, they are independent from the rest of the suit, and there is a minor recoil when they are fired.

So in other words, they were a technology that were scientifically proven to ruin the day of anyone on the receiving end, and one that his father had invented several decades ahead of its time.

With a grunt, the screwdriver twisted in the socket a final time until it wouldn't turn any further, and he looked up and wiped his eyebrow of all the permeating sweat that had been constantly building up under the intense time management. He was never really one for rushing, since perfecting something was always more reliable and efficient, as well as effective, however with how much he tinkered at home, his skill compensated a large natural boost in speed also. He unclamped the device, before slipping it onto his arm and checking he hadn't missed any steps in his head, before powering it on.

A droning whir of awesome proportion echoed throughout the room, as everyone present, examinees and teachers, all turned to look at him, however he was far too absorbed notice. Nodding with a pleased smile, he clamped a sheet of stainless steel in two sturdy g-clamps facing up to ensure it shouldn't fly off, before he levelled his arm at his makeshift target.

Inhaling deeply, he shifted his weight in a brace to ensure he didn't fly backwards from the recoil, and he used his other hand to stay and support the gauntlet further. He lined it up, aiming between his index and middle fingers at the base, before his thumb twitched on the big, red button.

*Vvvvvvvvvvv**RRRMMMM* **The only thing he could imagine to compare the sound to would be that of a loud electromagnetic pulse, or of a miniature city's electrical grid failing suddenly. You couldn't even hear the screech and tear of the metal over the noise. "Haha yeah! It worked!" he exclaimed to himself, staring at the plate that had been quite literally blasted apart from the centre to form a large hole. Luckily, nothing broke off and hurt anyone, but it definitely demonstrated that it _could have._

He glanced at his watch, and noticed he wouldn't have time to test the pressure cannons if he still wanted to install the grappling hook. He didn't like not testing things, however if worst came to worst, he'd either have to just rely on his repulsor blasters or try to tweak things on the battlefield.

His grin faltered as he felt eyes tickling every inch of his body. Turning around, he met face-to-face with a neutral looking teacher, holding back a girl with pink hair from leaping on Izuku.

"Mei, sit down! Get back to your work, all of you! This is not the time to dawdle and focus on others." she reminded, to which everyone instantly snapped their attention back to their own projects. "And as for you, young man. As impressive and fascinating as that display was, I'm going to have to ask you to not do that again, since it was clearly quite distracting to the other examinees." she didn't sound particularly mad, however he never meant to be a distraction in the first place.

"M-my apologies, Miss Power-Loader-sensei ma'am!" he yelped rigidly as the hero chuckled at the mash of formalities. "I-it won't happen again, I just kinda forgot my surroundings." he sheepishly scratched his neck with an apologetic grin, as he honestly had forgotten there was even other people in the room. He had been so enraptured and engulfed in his work, that he almost forgot this was all an _entrance exam in the first place._

"Heh, don't panic over it kid." the woman waved off forgivingly, but for the majority of the exam, the teacher silently observed the boy's work with unfaltering intrigue which he was fine with -since she seemed quite friendly and simply curious.

'I need to buckle down and get this done right! Otherwise, I'll miss my only chance at proving them all wrong, and succeeding what my father failed to achieve alone!' his face grit with determination, which the hero noticed.

'I need to look into this kid. His talent is incredible, and his quick and constant analysis is visible in how minimal flaws there are in his already outstanding project!' the support hero thought in wonder. She had already decided to enter Mei Hatsume into the course with recommendation, even though the girl was still taking the test out of free will _-'Why pass out on a rare opportunity to invent babies that might explode with no consequences?'_, but clearly she wasn't the only one that deserved to be recognised for their talent.

Perhaps she should talk to Principle Nedzumi about it later, since taking the test or not, being labelled as recommended was a truly impressive title in the UA halls, and one that anyone would fight for throughout the entire country. Especially for a quirkless boy.

**~oOo~**

Finishing just in the nick of time, Izuku managed to install his grappling hook, and was told that even just his small demonstration from earlier was easily enough. The look on Power-Loader's face at the very least told him he could most definitely rest easy without worrying of not passing… But now, however, he had his final test.

The true test of whether or not he deserved to be here was encroaching rapidly. Should he pass… He'd be the first male enrolled into any hero academy ever. In fact, by those standards he'd also be the first quirkless student enrolled into a hero academy in what he presumed was the entire world.

He blinked when only now realising after all these years just how massive this all was. He was about to set a revolution if he did this. He would start an uproar, and most likely gain a very large target on his head for the villains, since who wouldn't want to be the first in history to 'defeat a male hero'?

Shaking the growing nerves from his head, he looked down at the shiny metal glove on his right hand, while entering an incredibly large and grand auditorium -A reoccurring and iconic theme to all of UA's facilities-. He sat down in a back row seat. Glancing over, he almost recoiled in shock as he recognised the person sitting next to him as the pink girl from before. She was currently chatting up a storm with the person next to her, who admittedly looked uninvested and agitated.

The girl seemed to realise this, and suddenly turned towards him instead to try her luck with socialising with him.

"Oh hey! Man, we've been seeing each other everywhere today, huh!? Talk about destiny or some sort of supernatural coincidence!" the girl flashed the most enormous grin he had ever seen in his life. "My name's Mina Ashido, but you can call me whatever you prefer. Personally, I'm not much one for formalities." she exclaimed peppily.

"O-oh… Nice to uhm meet you, Ashido-san. I'm I-Izuku Midoriya." he smiled awkwardly before holding out a slightly trembling hand. (He had never exactly been renowned as a social expert, let alone when talking to such a bubbly and exotically pretty girl such as this.)

She slapped his hand in a horizontal high five, smiling as he looked at his hand with a small taken-aback smirk. Her grin was genuine, and he could feel the positive vibes rolling off of her, which calmed him down before he had even realised just how nervous he was.

He liked her.

"Soooo… what's with the infinity gauntlet?" She chuckled at the reference, causing him to blush and in turn chuckle back. "Gonna go erasing half the universe with this thing after this exam? Or just snap your fingers for a ramen takeaway? I'll have to join you if that's the case." her laughter only grew as he began to join in infectiously.

"Hehe It's not quite that powerful. -_Yet_-." he added on a second thought with a mischievous grin. "It's just something I made during the support course exam for this."

"Wait really? You made that in the support course exam!?" she exclaimed incredulously in utter, dumbfounded awe. "Dude, I may not know what exactly it does, but I've seen enough sci-fi to know that it already looks threateningly powerful." she stated with a thoughtful puff of the cheeks. "Waiwaiwait, isn't the support course test only like… YOU MADE THAT IN ONLY _TWO HOURS!?"_ she shouted, causing him to yelp as many people turned to face the pain in irritation and curiosity. She was leaning off the edge of her seat, completely twisted and staring at his arm enraptured as she caught up to what he just implied.

"Y-y-yeah…" he scratched his nose as a light blush rose. He was in absolutely no way knowledgable in social queues and he almost never talked to people as much as they were right now, but he was trying at the very least.

"Whoah… That's… **incredible**." she whispered as she stared at it, before looking back up at him. "Wow, your quirk must be pretty awesome if it allows you to do such awesome stuff so easily as you say." she crossed her legs, before slouching back into her seat and slumping casually. "My quirk's just that I can secrete acid that I can alter the viscosity and solubility of. Nothing godly, but at the very least most villains will think twice before messing with me!" a thumb prodded her chest.

Izuku frowned, before gulping. "I… Well, the reason I'm taking both the support course and the hero course, is because I don't actually have a quirk." he stated half under his breath, not even certain if she could hear him, but his thoughts were confirmed.

"…Wow. Y-you're… You're quirkless…?" she asked as though the idea terrified her. It probably would for someone who had been pink since they were four as well as being able to do what she could. Almost immediately however, she slapped her own face in self-disappointment. "I'm sorry I'm sorry! At first I thought you were just a very masculine-built girl! I didn't mean to be rude… You probably get it a lot huh?" she asked. All he could do was nod. "I've… never met a quirkless person before. Not that I know of at least, possibly on the street but you know what I mean…"

"Y-yeah. As you said… I get it a lot, it's fine if you laugh I'm used to i-"

"What!?" she yelled quietly in his ear as to avoid attention. She jabbed his chest in irritation, before staring directly into his eyes. "Nononono, I in absolutely no way want to make fun of you! I think it's incredible that you've made it so far already without a quirk!" She pointed to his gauntlet to prove her point. "The fact that you're taking UA's tests alone means you have both the courage and the belief in yourself, so I admire you for that. Already hoping you get in for that alone." she smiled sincerely.

He stared at her, her eyes unfaltering and filled with expressions that never received from anyone other than his mom.

"T… Thanks, Ashido. That really means a lot to me." he smiled softly, as she did the same.

Izuku glanced to his left when he heard someone growling, a pop like firecrackers jolted him in shock when his eyes were met by a blood red glare from Kacchan. His childhood friend-turned-nightmare.

Mina seemed to notice his immediate withdrawal, sinking into his chair as though trying to…

Well…_ literally sink through the seat._

A few flashes and crackles sounded from the girl's palm as she glowered. She mumbled under her breathe "Fuck. Just why are you so insistent on getting yourself killed!?" through barred teeth, inaudible to all.

Mina squinted at the blonde girl who had taken his gaze off of Midoriya, and onto her. Her eyes were ruby, filled with the aura of cold, analytical judgement, but she stayed steadfast. The explosive teen grit her teeth, before glaring death back into the side of Izuku, who shrank further, trying to hide his eyes.

"Hey, Mido, stand up real quick?" she asked nicely but commandingly. "Please?"

"Uhm… o-okay…" his entire being trembled as he stood up from the confines of his seat. Instantly, she grabbed his arm, before spinning them both in a pirouette, before gently pushing him down into her seat, where she instantly sat down in his, building a wall between the green-bean and blonde-edgelord.

"There we go. Better?" she asked, ignoring the blonde girl's feeble utters of surprise, offence and protest beside her.

"…" he stared at her for the longest time, before the biggest smile she had seen him give responded. "Y-yeah. Better." he responded. "Thank you, Ashido…"

Neither of them noticed when Katsumi stared at Midoriya, disheartened, before glaring at Ashido in silent fury.

Suddenly, the entire auditorium silenced as at the very bottom centre on the stage, the pro hero Present-Mic strolled up. She wore sunglasses and had an impressively tall blonde quiff of hair. She was a hero that Izuku had grown to love, as for years he had listened in on her podcasts. Her quirk allowed for her to project her voice incredibly loud, so he didn't even require a microphone to reach the back of the massive room and back.

"WELCOME ALL YOU LEGENDARY LISTENERS, TO THIS, YEARS, ENTRANCE EXAAAAMMMMM!!! CAN I GET A 'HEY'?" she yelled enthusiastically.

"Hey!" Midoriya shouted. Alone. Silently, everyone else turned to stare at him, however he held his enthusiasm firm, managing to hide the trembling terror beneath his expression. Some outright laughed, while a few others were secretly impressed he was so willing to embarrass himself.

"HEYYY!!! THIS LITTLE MAN'S GOT IT! I'M DEFINITELY ROUTING FOR YOU TO PASS!" Present-Mic grinned massively, unable to hide her impress from the unexpected response. It was almost uncanny for anyone to ever reply like that, however those that did were always people who were filled with determination and energy. They were the ones who were in it to win it, even if their response seemed irresponsible or immature.

Call it a miniature scouting test, and this boy passed.

Sitting next to him, Mina nudged his leg, causing him to look her way, before she grinned and flashed a thumbs up. "Hehe, nice one!"

"NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET ME EXPLAIN THE RULES OF THIS EXAM!"

The rules were simple for the most part. Three types of robots, ranging from lowest difficulty and points, to highest, which they had to defeat to rack up as many points as possible. A fourth robot would be there, but it was worth no points in defeating it, so Present Mic urged them all to ignore it like you would a thwomp in a game.

"ARE, YOU, REEAADDYYYY?"

"Yeah!" both Izuku and Mina proudly shouted, along with a select few others.

"I AM LOVING YOUR ENTHUSIASM LITTLE MAN! ALONG WITH ALL OF THOSE WHO BROUGHT OUT THE COURAGE TO JOIN HIM! I'LL BE WATCHING OUT FOR YOU!" he grinned at the incredulous looks the entire stadium sized room held. Glowers of jealousy from his verbal support only made her smile.

Hamada may not know what the kid was capable of doing… But he would pass.

_She was strangely sure of it._

**~oOo~**

Izuku breathed as he looked at his card. He was fighting at Ground Gamma, but he startled when after sitting at a window seat on the coach that would take them there, Mina prodded his shoulder.

"Gah- Wait what!? H-how… This is like the fourth coincidental situation is a row!" he mumbled in confusion to himself as she plopped down beside him. He shuffled up a little out of awkwardness, but either she didn't notice, or didn't feel like embarrassingly pointing out his overly timid nature.

"I know, right, what are the chances!? I'm telling ya, fate must be at play here or something, huh?" she laughed with a shrug as he turned to face back out the window. "Who knows, maybe if we both pass, we'll be in the same class too!"

"Haha yeah… I wouldn't mind that, y-you seem nice." he scratched his neck sheepishly with a smile. To be honest, he had no idea how they had ended up meeting repeatedly in such little time, but he'll roll with it since she seems like a really kind natured person -- especially compared to his middle school classmates. "So if you don't mind me asking out of curiosity, what's the current limit to your quirk?" he asked seemingly out go the blue.

"Oh, err… Well, it's normally just when my skin's natural resistance is overworked and my hands burn raw. But if I were to only secrete weak acid… I suppose it takes several or so litres? It's super rare that ever happens though." she responded.

"Huh that's really cool. If your only real drawback is resistance, that can easily be built up as long as you're willing to stand through the pain and make sure you don't damage anything permanently."

"Yeah. I'm still not sure if it's enough to get in though, even with how much I've trained. I'm worried."

"Well, what's the maximum corrosiveness you can handle decently roughly?"

"Uhhhhm… Well, I can just about melt through metal before it becomes too irritant. Any higher though and I couldn't last long." she sighed, clenching her fists.

"You'll be fine then." he stated, causing her to turn in slight shock at the resolve in his voice.

"What makes you so sure?" she inquired.

"I've always had a knack for seeing potentially incredible quirks, and I already see a top ten hero in you. As long as you give it your all… You'll get in." he finalised, smiling, before they both remained in a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride.

Getting out of the coach, Mina flashed him a thumbs up and a wink. "Well, I better see you going ham in there yourself! But then again, I'm almost certain you've prepared for this, so I'm sure we'll be seeing each other if our hunches are correct!" she flashed her teeth, before sauntering away. "I'll catch you around in there, Midori!"

He flushed at the nick-name, before smiling back. "Y-yeah. Good luck!" and with that, he was left on his own to mentally prepare for the worst to come.

Just as everyone had filtered from the bus and began warming up and stretching, he mentally prepared himself. He knew likelyhood was that in the next fifteen minutes he was going to tire and most probably get hurt, but he was okay with that. So long as it meant him getting in, he'd gladly withstand fifteen minutes of hell.

Looking up to his right, he noticed Present Mic walking towards the ledge of a platform. The hero seemed to scan the crowd, before they locked eyes. The man gave a grin as well as an encouraging nod, which filled Izuku with newfound determination, mixed in with Ashido's support. He rolled his neck, as well as his wrists, dropping his stance like a bull.

**"AND LET THE TEST BEGIN!"** the booming, echoing voice of the hero shouted, startling the entire crowd from the side.

All except one.

Without a second glance, Izuku narrowed his vision on the tremendous gate that opened before the crowd, and shot off, running as fast as his (admittedly not incredible physique) could manage. Even without being fit, however, he managed to gain a few seconds head start on the other competitors, which was all he needed. Shooting past him, a girl with what looked like engines in her legs and glasses tore down the road towards the open plaza in the centre of the city.

Izuku squinted, before shrugging internally. Had the speedy girl been smart and thought this test through, he'd realise that in a realistic, life-sized model of a city, there would ultimately be more villains in far higher numbers and point-value lurking inside the buildings. As an interview of All Might on tv had taught him: "Realistically, on average almost eighty percent of big time villains and organisations worked in the shadows. It was only the inexperienced, cocky, small-time thugs that hung out in broad daylight."

Taking that quote to heart, Izuku immediately entered the first building to his right, knowing that if UA had taken this test seriously, he'd run into some almost immediately. Getting past the hallway proved his point. The interior of the small building was bland and plain, fake props used to barely stop it from being a grey room. The only true thing of notice, however, was the deactivated two-pointer bot surrounded by two one-pointers.

Immediately, Izuku levelled his hand with the robots before him before they had the chance to rush him, and aiming between his fingers, he clicked the big, red button.

*B**BVVV**VVVvvvvvv* the sound of the blaster tearing a hole through the protons in the air and metal plated robots screeching filled the dingy air. Essentially what the blaster had done, was shoot a ray of charged electrons through the air, which coming into contact with the positively charged protons, kept the beam travelling in a straight line. What ever electrons didn't bond, struck their target and tore a gapping hole, exactly as he wanted. Or course, depending on the range and the strength of the battery creating the magnetised charge, the power would differ, but for now… 

"Perfect." he smiled, already barging through the back door and heading for the next building. Suddenly, a one-pointer crashed through a nearby wall, scattering the way with debris that narrowly missed hitting him. Raising his hand, he narrowly avoided being struck by a large concrete chunk by using the pressurised canon, which on firing, the recoil shot him backwards, skidding along the gravelly floor.

"Oooowwwww…" he groaned. "Yep, that definitely needs some _minor calibration adjustments_." At least he knew it worked however, since he never did get the time to test it earlier.

Looking back up to the robot, he was about to make its head explode before a blinding, glittery laser of white light beamed past. Looking back, a girl with combed, spiky, long blonde hair was smiling fancily.

"Sorry for interrupting, but alas this is a contest. Thank you, monsieur for keeping him still for me, I'll see you around now~" the girl said with a French accent, running off.

"Well… I suppose I can't hold a grudge since she is right… This is a contest. I need to compete as does everyone else." he told himself as he ran past an alleyway, before backing up.

Looking down, he could see a three-pointer, ominously lurking. It had thicker plates of armour, as well as treads for mobility instead of the balancing like the smaller robots.

"B**BVVV**VVVvvvvvv* He aimed at the face, however it dodged with surprising speed, charging at Izuku unexpectedly and catching him off guard. He barely managed to air-blast himself out of the way before getting flattened by the hulking beast. Standing back up, he coughed, readying for the next clash. The robot circled, seemingly calculating its options of attack, but Izuku knew by common logic, to never let your opponent thing things through in a fight. He raised his arm again, before tweaking the voltage on the battery on his hip, before grinning. "Looks like I need a lil more power for you guys. I'll keep that in mind for modifications later." he stated, before a tremendous roar shattered down the street. It felt like Izuku had just dislocated his shoulder, but looking at the mist, there was a gaping hole the width of his arm length cut cleanly through its body. Wires hung out, sparking, and the robot mindlessly *CLANG-ed* to the floor, limp in a robotic post-mortem rigor mortis.

"Nice, I'm already on eight points! If I keep this rate exactly, by the end I should have about sixty points!" he told himself, charging for the next cpu-controlled victim.

After storming a number of buildings, each housing a different 'difficulty' of gangs with varying values, he had reached thirty two points within roughly eight minutes. Seven minutes left, but he could still do this. His shoulder ached and his wrist was beginning to strain under the constant recoil, which meant that he really had to look at dampening it as well as spreading it along more area to lower the risk of breaking/hurting something...

But overall, he was doing well. He didn't quite expect his first Mk1 prototype gauntlet to work so well, especially unrefined and practically untested, yet luckily, it was holding up to the brutal test he was putting it through. The literal car battery he was forced to carry was seriously slowing him down and becoming a heavy burden, as well as running lower in juices every time he checked, but at this rate, he'd be fine. He could make it last for this second half of the exam.

Mid-thought and looking down the road ahead, Izuku suddenly spotted someone trapped beneath a robot. Gaining closer, it seemed as though it had toppled over onto them after being 'eliminated'. Reaching them, he shouted for them to hear under it.

"Hey, you're gonna be fine! Are you still conscious?" A muffled affirmation consisting of a grunt and a tiny shift in the body of the bot answered him. "Okay! On three, I need you to lift it up as much as you can off of you so I can get my hand under it! Think you can do that?"

"A-alright!" the response was muffled, but there.

Bending down, he grabbed the robot as best he could with his left hand. "Ready? Three, two, _ONE!"_ just as he shouted it, the robot's frame lifted ever so slightly, allowing him to just barely slide his right hand beneath it. "Now hold still!" the bot instantly flew through the air, before landing a few meters away, crashing to the ground and half shattering into broken parts of metal. Looking down, his eyes caught sight of a girl with shortish purple hair and red triangles on her cheeks. Her eyes were naturally quite thin-pricked, also purple, and she was staring at him incredulously. Noticing two things coil around beneath her ears, he twisted his head in momentary rapture as he realised they were small cables of skin, with two headphone jacks on the end. She seemed to have complete, fluid control over them as they clinked together along with her fingers shyly.

"Uhm… Hi." was all he could manage with a swallow as her eyes shot all over him, scanning him in what looked like awe.

"H-hey…" she breathed meekly, before her cheeks flushed. "Thanks for er… saving me and all that dude." the corners of her lips tweaked.

Blinking, he extended an arm down, offering to pull her up which she accepted. "No… no uh problem. I'll… see you around. Don't get stuck under any more robots, okay?"

She pouted, before they both laughed a little and he went on his way.

'Huh, two cute girls that talked to me in one day without abject discrimination or disgust… That's new." he summarised, before a terrible roar caused him to shrink in abrupt terror. The entire ground trembled like a violent earthquake, and a few buildings crumbled slightly from the force. Windows lining towers shattered onto the roads as the boy was cast in a shadow of black.

Looking up meekly, his eyes burst at the sight of a thirteen-goddamn-stories-high-building-of-a-robot lumbering over him with a glowing eye. **LIKE WHAT THE HELL _IS _****_THAT!? _**

Gears started hiring in his head, and instantly he concluded one thing: That's the Zero-pointer that the examinees were told was an obstacle to avoid.

'… Kinda hard to avoid if it dwarfs half the damn CITY and blots out the _sun!'_ he cried to himself in anguish, before glancing down the road towards where the robot was heading. His eyes combed over several people that seemed unconscious from rubble and such, and it's enormous treads were rolling down the street(s it was that big) heading straight for them. It showed no sign of stopping either, which jolted Izuku into action before he could even think.

With less delay than blinking, he found himself charging at the people trapped, his first thoughts to free them and help the unconscious people. Staring up at the looming, catastrophe-sized robot, he thought again. There wouldn't be enough time to help so many people without still having to fight it on the ground or just being caught by it/pummeled to a daze, so there was only one option left.

The backup plan. ( Or in other words, the plan he'd rather not have had to resort to.)

Arriving at the base of this metal mountain, he shook his head, slapping his cheeks as he prepared for what he was seriously about to do, before ultimately pointing his right wrist at the floor.

"Okay okay I can… I can do this…" he repeated if only to not loose his breakfast from nerves. He looked up, amping the voltage of the battery to the blast, and then bent his knees. With a single click be found himself jolted into the air in a concussive airwave explosion ten feet up in the air, before skidding face first onto the metal cover of the robot's spinning treads. It was bumpy and slightly wobbly to stand up, but ha managed to hold his breath, looking up and aiming for the next part to get to.

His eyes watered when he realised that to get to the next stable ledge, he'd have to chain two blasts together accurately and with pinpoint precision.

"W-why am I doing this to myself!?" he screamed, looking down at the road roaring past below, before he angled his wrist. The first blast sent him up at a tiny angle to move in line with the moving robot's tragectory, however it was the second one that he was really worried about. If he missed this, he'd indefinitely break a lot of bones falling at this height. Lining his arm straight down, between his wide legs, his other hand held it to dampen a little bit of recoil as he was sent shooting up farther, spiralling slightly from the inbalanced mid-air launch. Screaming to himself, his left hand barely managed to clasp onto the robot's waist ring. Pulling himself up fuelled by both terror and adrenaline, he suppressed a gag at the change in view. It was even more wobbly and disorientating the higher he got, which didn't help.

Okay… Okay only one more blast to reach a ledge that I can safely climb to its shoulders…. I can do this! I… can totally do this!" he breathed shakily. He aimed his final blast at the floor, a little more experienced with blast-jumping (yes he was calling it that) as well as a little more confident. Reaching the ledge for the first time on his shaky feet, he was finally safe to scale it safely up its back with many footholds to stick to.

It took a moment or two, but finally he reached the top of its shoulder and neck. The massive robot hadn't seemed to notice him yet, and from up here, he could see the other contestants drawing closer and closer at a pace a little too rapid for comfort. Looking for a weak point, Izuku kneeled down and craned his head into the open cracks of it's neck between the head and its body. There was wire-galore inside, as well as infinite intricate details and parts.

Izuku grinned, because if he knew one thing from constantly building things, scrounging for parts and scrap from junk was a skill you needed to ace. His arm stretched as he grinned gleefully.

"Oooo, _this_ looks important! _And_ _this_. _Oh_ and _that_ could be compatible with my scatter-lens project!" his eyes caught a sparkly gleam just down below, a strain to reach, but pulling it back up he gasped. "Oh my god even if all I can smuggle out of here is _you_ it'd be a dream!" he revelled in the part. If wired right, he could already see several incredibly practical uses for it.

Slipping the part hungrily into his most secure pocket, he looked back again, only to see a button. "OO BUTTON!" he cheered childishly -curse his affinity for brightly coloured buttons.

Suddenly, the entire bot rumbled, before stopping mid-charge to simply loom in the centre of the city as though it were depressed over a bad day. But Izuku knew before anything told him that he'd either just pressed the 'OFF' switch, or he was about to have a cliche, very unfortunate next few moments.

BEEP

BEEP

**BEEP**

"…oops." he cringed at reading the large sign saying 'Emergency Self Destruct, Only-Press-In-Case-Of-Robot-Malfunction!!!' above the expensive big red button he just booped.

**"Have a nice day!"** the robot resounded-

***BOOOOOM*** An enormous mushroom cloud of billowing smoke erupted similar to that of a volcano as explosions tore through the plating of the gigantic robot. Izuku screamed as he was sent spiralling like a starfish, trying to sporadically fire controlled airblasts to slow his decent, before his eyes locked with someone he was heading directly towards. His arms flailed as he squinted his eyes tight in terror and anticipation, before he felt himself collide into the arms of a very familiar pink skinned girl. The acid coating her skin was somewhat burning his back raw, yet he couldn't take his eyes of her own. They continued to stare like plates, before they both blinked at each other in silence.

'This is the like the fifth time I've seen you today…!' they both internally screamed, before squinting in unison.

'… Is this… fate…?' they both finalised, before a blush rose to her cheeks, causing him to remember the situation they were it.

"Uhm. . . Hi?"

"GAH!" he yelped, before jolting out of her grasp and falling unceremoniously onto his ass. He writhed in agony as he fell on his coccyx. "ARGH damnit that hurts like hell!" he rolled in an attempt to spread out the pain. He had countless scrapes, and burns which she could only cringe at.

She snorted, before wiping her hands on the concrete road and pulling him up to his feet. "Are -pffft- a-are you alright?" she tried her hardest to stop herself from falling over in laughter, she really did… But it was kinda hard after everything that had just happened.

He unexpectedly shoved her away, which received a gasp, before she realised why. Bending over, he heaved onto the side of the pavement. His stomach rebelling at having had its breakfast shaken like a blender in the air. She cringed, before approaching him and simply resorting to patting his back as he got it all out. At some point, the trial clearly ended, but they only truly realised once Recovery Girl came over to ensure they were both alright.

Mina already knew she had raw skin from how hard she had been trying. Racking up a walloping fifty points or something like that (she wasn't really counting reliably, only taking the number of robots defeated timesed by two since they ranged from one to three), but immediately she told the nurse to heal Izuku first. He had burns on his back from her acid, as well as a strained wrist from firing his device so wildly in the air, but thankfully nothing that couldn't be healed within a simple kiss from her quirk.

After dealing with all that -and the boy had finally stopped dry-heaving-, Mina ushered him along by pulling his wrist as they started to leave the battle grounds. However, it was definitely a shock when they were suffocated by other examinees that barraged them with all sorts of questions and such. Some asked how he had managed to shred the enormous robot, whilst others felt the need to state that 'if they were closer, the could have done the same thing but better.' which caused her to squint in irritation. Looking back, she noticed the boy half sink into her shadow, causing her to take action.

"All of you leave him alone! The fact of the matter is, is that just about all of you that were near it ran away, so don't start on him! Now open up so we can pass and go home." she grumbled in annoyance at the collective responses of the crowd. Luckily, she managed to slip through a small crack in the crowd, pulling Midoriya with her and escaping down the path. "God, what pricks. Hopefully none of them made it through."

"…" Izuku said nothing, but nodded lightly as they continued until they reached the outside entrance of UA, before he finally spoke up. "T-thank you for a-all the help back there…"

"Don't worry about it. You're not good with crowds, are you?" she asked gently as he looked at the floor.

"Replace crowds with p-people in general."****


End file.
